NEW DELHI: The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has sought an approval from finance ministry for the transfer of Rajasthan Drugs & Pharmaceuticals to the Government of Rajasthan. It had received a draft Cabinet note from the Department of Pharmaceuticals for comments, according to the government document seen by this newspaper.
Rajasthan Drugs & Pharmaceuticals is a central PSU, with a 51% equity shares held by the central government and 49% equity shares held by the Rajasthan government through RIICO Ltd. The company was incorporated in 1978. It is a formulation unit engaged in the production of tablets, capsules, liquid orals and oral rehydration salts. Its manufacturing facility is based in Jaipur. The commercial production was commissioned in April, 1981.
Currently, there are six pharma PSUs - Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, Hindustan Antibiotics, Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharma, Bengal Chemicals & Pharma and Rajasthan Drugs & Pharma. Under the new CPSE holding, finance ministry has been holding discussions to shut or divest units in the non-strategic sector.
The Committee of Group of Officers (CGO) has so far held three meetings to consider for the closure or disinvestment of CPSEs under the department of pharmaceutical, telecommunications, housing and urban affairs, health and family ministry and department of fertilizers. Currently, there are nearly 380 PSEs including subsidiaries, of which about 20-30% of which may be shut because of consistent losses and being unviable.